2018
Volume 31, Issue 37
www.LHIndependent.com
News@LHIndependent.com
August 16, 2018 | 50 Cents
Bringing college to the community
Continuing education courses to be offered at LHHS
By RACHEL MADISON Staff Writer Continuing education courses in both HVAC and plumbing will be offered to area adults through Austin Community College at Liberty Hill High School starting next month. The 16-week courses, which will be offered beginning Sept. 5, will take place in the evenings and on Saturdays and are specifically geared for adults looking to begin careers in the HVAC and plumbing trades. The courses are a joint venture between the Liberty Hill Independent
School District, the Liberty Hill Economic Development Corporation and the Continuing Education Division at ACC. One of the areas of the Continuing Education Division at ACC focuses on bringing training to adults by using public facilities in their communities, like churches, schools and community centers. Don Tracy, director of business operations and marketing for the Continuing Education Division at ACC, said the community partnership with LHISD and the EDC is just that—and will give the Liberty Hill community another way to ac-
cess education. He added that many people don’t see college as an option for them or they don’t know how to access it. “What we’re interested in doing and why we wanted to do this kind of partnership is it gives us the ability to bring college to the community in a way that’s more accessible than traditional college,” he said. “These classes are short, affordable and accessible, and allow people to improve their lives significantly in a short amount of time.” Kristy Kercheville, career and
See COURSES, Page 12
First Day of School fun
The Frank sisters had some fun Wednesday celebrating back to school with some tunes in the front yard. From left, are Rylee Frank, a freshman at LHHS; Avery Frank, 6th Grade at Liberty Hill Intermediate, and Macy Frank, a 4th grader at Rancho Sienna Elementary. (Courtesy Photo) See more First Day photos at Facebook.com/LibertyHillIndependent.
THE INDEPENDENT SPORTS
MIKE EDDLEMAN PHOTO
Sgt. Shane Ray, with his wife, Tessa, shows the emotion of the moment as he is welcomed into his new home in MorningStar last week. The family was assisted through the Wounded Hero Home Program.
Community comes together for Veteran By MIKE EDDLEMAN Staff Writer A dozen years ago, U.S. Army Sgt. Shane Ray suffered life-altering injuries while serving in Iraq. Since that time he and his family have struggled with the perils of constant medical procedures, specialized care needs and just finding
a way to get on with their lives. Friday, the community came together to help ease some of that burden by welcoming the Ray family into their new home in MorningStar. An emotional Ray, surrounded by his family, thanked those directly involved in the project as well as
the more than 100 members of the community on hand to welcome him. “I’m not good at speeches, I hate them,” he said. “But thank you for this home. It is going to change my life. I’m going to be able to help out
See VETERAN, Page 4
ESD absorbs new costs at same tax rate
By MIKE EDDLEMAN Staff Writer Thanks to rising property values and steep growth in sales tax revenue, Williamson County Emergency Services District #4 (ESD) is poised ©2018 The Liberty Hill Independent
to absorb a more than $800,000 budget increase without increasing the tax rate for the next fiscal year. Commissioners first considered a budget based on the maximum tax rate of $0.10 per $100 property value, but following a brief discussion, settled on the current rate in a split vote. President Dan Clark, Secretary James Crabtree and Treasurer Keith Bright voted in favor of proposing the current rate of $0.09825, while
Vice President James Baker and Assistant Treasurer Jeff Roemer were opposed. Roemer questioned the benefit or the savings of choosing the lower rate, but Bright believed that there was more to gain in maintaining it than raising it, even slightly. “I would like to stay at that rate,” Bright said. “It’s my personal opinion. I expect our growth to be
See WCESD, Page 4
ALEX RUBIO PHOTO
Liberty Hill running back Kyle Harrison (center) completes a drill during Saturday’s practice at Panther Stadium as Defensive Coordinator Kent Walker (left) watches. Harrison will be joined by Shane Gonzalez and Jakob Schofield in the backfield on Friday nights.
Season’s first full-pads practice shows promise, room for improvement
By KEITH SPARKS Sports Editor The theme of Saturday’s practice -- this season’s first in full pads -seemed to be keeping energy levels high. Liberty Hill Head Football Coach Jeff Walker said that’s almost always the case on the first day in pads. “Always the first few days in full pads, it takes them a while to get used to, and it’s never the speed we want it to be right away,” Walker
said. “It takes a while to carry those things around and get used to them again, so that’s the focus is us trying to get faster in our pads.” Although frustrated with the energy at times on Saturday, Walker said it was about what he expected. As long as they improve upon it every day between now and their first game, Walker said the Panthers be in good shape. “It was about what I expected for the first day,” Walker said. “I just
would like it to be faster than the day before as we go along, but it was about what I expected. It does take a while. I’m just not very patient.” Saturday’s practice featured a little bit of everything, from individual positional drills to game-like scenarios. Even in those game-like scenarios, though, it’s difficult to judge a team’s performance until you put
See PRACTICE, Page 7